Your Frugal Fridge!

Now that it’s summer, most of us start thinking about keeping our electric bill in bounds! One way to do that is to keep your refrigerator and freezer, if you have one, running efficiently. Be sure to vacuum the condenser coils on your refrigerator at least once a year. You may have to pull your appliance out from the wall to do this, but when the coils are dusty, it keeps the fridge from cooling efficiently. If you have an older fridge, check the door gaskets to make sure you have a tight seal and aren’t losing cold air around the doors. Another “small” thing you can do: when you are putting away your groceries after a trip to the store, gather all your items for the fridge in one place. Then you can open the refrigerator one time and put everything inside. If you don’t have a frosfree freezer and there’s more than 1/2 inch of frost built up, it’s time to defrost. You can speed up the process by setting pans of hot water inside. Never use a knife to try to dislodge the frost and never use a hair dryer to melt it. Water and electricity do not mix! Now that it’s clean and defrosted, keep your freezer efficient by filling empty spaces with old milk jugs filled with water. These jugs also make good ice blocks for your picnic cooler! Another good use for these jugs of ice: set one on the kitchen counter in the morning. As the ice melts, your children can have ice water to drink without opening the refrigerator door. One last thing to remember, when there’s lightning around, it might be safer to just unplug your fridge and freezer. Food in the freezer will stay frozen for up to 48 hours if the door is kept closed. Food in the refreigerator will keep up to 24 hours.

Seasoning An Oven

Untreated cast iron rusts, especially around water.  To prevent metal from oxidizing in the presence of moisture, cast iron requires a process called ?seasoning?.  Seasoning is simply the procedure of baking oil into the oven’s pores, and on  top of the iron pores. This baked on coating will darken and eventually turn black with age.  Darkening is the sign of a well kept oven, and of it’s use.  This coating forms a barrier between moisture in the air and the surface of the metal.  It also provides a non-stick coating on the inside of the oven that  is easy to clean. Here are some tips when it comes time to season your oven.Scrub lid and oven in hot water with a mild soap to take off the coating the manufacture puts on the oven before shipping.  Use a stiff brush, 3M scrub pad, or plastic scrubbing pad to scrub the waxy coating off of your new Dutch oven, and rinse in clear, hot water.  Dry your oven by putting it in the kitchen oven at 150 to 200 degrees for 15 or 20 minutes.While it is warm, coat the  inner and outer surfaces with a thin layer of cooking oil. Use a good grade of olive or vegetable oil.  Peanut oil is a choice of many, and tallow or lard can also be used, but they tend to break down over time and become rancid if the oven is not used often enough. Place the oven and lid in a conventional oven, or a gas BBQ grill, with the pot upside down and the lid on the Dutch oven legs.  Heat oven at 450 to 500  degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the oil turns very dark, nearly black.  This process bakes a grease coating into the pot and virtually gives it a no scrub surface.Remove the oven and apply another light coat of oil, and.  bake at 450 to 500 degrees for another 30 minutes.  By using  high temperatures, the oil will bake harder and darker, leaving your oven shinier.  You should oil and bake at least once, I like to go through this process two, or even three times to get a beautiful dark color, and rock hard finish.Turn off the heat and let the Dutch oven sit until cool.  If the surface is sticky, bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes.  When seasoning your oven it will create a smell that may be unpleasant.  For this reason some like to season their ovens in a BBQ outside, however I have done all mine indoors with the doors and windows open.The first thing you cook in your oven after seasoning should be things like roasts, potatoes or chicken.  Stay away from tomatoes and tomato products with high acid content, or a lot of sugar such as cobblers.   Acids and sugars can break down the protective covering before it seasons or hardens properly.A well seasoned oven produces a unique flavor unequaled by any other cooking utensil.  This is the Magic of Dutch Oven cooking.

10 Wide Open Tips For Food Safety In The Great Outdoors

Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people and families. However, if the food isn’t handled correctly, food-borne illness can be an unwelcome souvenir.
1. Choose foods that are light enough to carry in a backpack and that can be transported safely. Keep foods either hot or cold. Since it’s difficult to keep foods hot without a heat source, it’s best to transport chilled foods. Refrigerate or freeze the food overnight. What foods to bring? For a day hike, just about anything will do as long as you can fit it in your backpack and keep it cold — sandwiches, fried chicken, bread and cheese, and even salads — or choose non- perishable foods.
2. Keep everything clean. Remember to bring disposable wipes if you’re taking a day trip. (Water is too heavy to bring enough for cleaning dishes!)
3. It’s not a good idea to depend on fresh water from a lake or stream for drinking, no matter how clean it appears. Some pathogens thrive in remote mountain lakes or streams and there’s no way to know what might have fallen into the water upstream. Bring bottled or tap water for drinking. Always start out with a full water bottle and replenish your supply from tested public systems when possible. On long trips you can find water in streams, lakes, and springs, but be sure to purify any water from the wild, no matter how clean it appears.
4. If you’re backpacking for more than a day, the food situation gets a little more complicated. You can still bring cold foods for the first day, but you’ll have to pack shelf-stable items for the next day. Canned goods are safe, but heavy, so plan your menu carefully. Advances in food technology have produced relatively lightweight staples that don’t need refrigeration or careful packaging. For example:
==> peanut butter in plastic jars;
==> concentrated juice boxes;
==> canned tuna, ham, chicken, and beef;
==> dried noodles and soups;
==> beef jerky and other dried meats;
==> dehydrated foods;
==> dried fruits and nuts; and
==> powdered milk and fruit drinks.
5. If you’re cooking meat or poultry on a portable stove or over a fire, you’ll need a way to determine when it’s done and safe to eat. Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness, and it can be especially tricky to tell the color of a food if you’re cooking in a wooded area in the evening. It’s critical to use a food thermometer when cooking hamburgers. Ground beef may be contaminated with E. coli, a particularly dangerous strain of bacteria. Illnesses have occurred even when ground beef patties were cooked until there was no visible pink. The only way to insure that ground beef patties are safely cooked is to use a food thermometer, and cook the patty until it reaches 160В° F. Be sure to clean the thermometer between uses.
6. To keep foods cold, you’ll need a cold source. A block of ice keeps longer than ice cubes. Before leaving home, freeze clean, empty milk cartons filled with water to make blocks of ice, or use frozen gel-packs. Fill the cooler with cold or frozen foods. Pack foods in reverse order. First foods packed should be the last foods used. (There is one exception: pack raw meat or poultry below ready-to-eat foods to prevent raw meat or poultry juices from dripping on the other foods.)
7. Camping supply stores sell biodegradable camping soap in liquid and solid forms. But use it sparingly, and keep it out of rivers, lakes, streams, and springs, as it will pollute. If you use soap to clean your pots, wash the pots at the campsite, not at the water’s edge. Dump dirty water on dry ground, well away from fresh water. Some wilderness campers use baking soda to wash their utensils. Pack disposable wipes for hands and quick cleanups.
8. If you’re planning to fish, check with your fish and game agency or state health department to see where you can fish safely, then follow these guidelines for Finfish:
==> Scale, gut, and clean fish as soon as they’re caught.
==> Live fish can be kept on stringers or in live wells, as long as they have enough water and enough room to move and breathe.
==> Wrap fish, both whole and cleaned, in water-tight plastic and store on ice.
==> Keep 3 to 4 inches of ice on the bottom of the cooler. Alternate layers of fish and ice.
==> Store cooler out of the sun and cover with a blanket.
==> Once home, eat fresh fish within 1 to 2 days or freeze them. For top quality, use frozen fish within 3 to 6 months.
9. If using a cooler, leftover food is safe only if the cooler still has ice in it. Otherwise discard leftover food.
10. Whether in the wild or on the high seas, protect yourself and your family by washing your hands before and after handling food.

10 Deadly Bacteria That Can Get In Your Food (And How To Stop Them From Getting There)

Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our environment. Not all bacteria cause disease in humans (for example, some bacteria are used beneficially in making cheese and yogurt). However, the prime causes of food-borne illness include parasites, viruses, and bacteria such as:
1. E. coli O157:H7
2. Campylobacter jejuni
3. Salmonella
4. Staphylococcus aureus
5. Listeria monocytogenes
6. Clostridium perfringens
7. Vibrio parahaemolyticus
8. Vibrio vulnificus
9. Hepatitis A virus, and
10. Norwalk and Norwalk-like virus
Bacteria that cause disease are called pathogens. These organisms can become unwelcome guests at the dinner table. When certain pathogens enter the food supply, they can cause food-borne illness. They’re in a wide range of foods, including meat, milk and other dairy products, spices, chocolate, seafood, and even water. Millions of cases of food-borne illness occur each year.
Most cases of food-borne illness can be prevented. Careless food handling sets the stage for the growth of disease- causing “bugs.” For example, hot or cold foods left standing too long at room temperature provide an ideal climate for bacteria to grow. Proper cooking or processing of food destroys bacteria.
Fresh does not always mean safe. The organisms that cause food poisoning aren’t the ones that cause spoilage. Wax often coats certain kinds of produce, such as apples and cucumbers, and may trap pesticides. To remove the wax, wash with very diluted dish detergent and a soft scrub brush, or peel (the best nutrients are often in the peel, however).
Foods may be cross contaminated when cutting boards and kitchen tools that have been used to prepare a contaminated food, such as raw chicken, aren’t cleaned before being used for another food, such as vegetables.
How Bacteria Get In Food
Bacteria may be present on products when you buy them. Plastic-wrapped boneless chicken and ground meat, for example, were once part of live chicken or cattle. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs aren’t sterile. Neither is fresh produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, and melons. Foods, including safely cooked, ready-to-eat foods, can become cross contaminated with bacteria transferred from raw products, meat juices or other contaminated products, or from food handlers with poor personal hygiene.
Unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices and ciders, foods made with raw or undercooked eggs, chicken, tuna, potato and macaroni salads, and cream-filled pastries harboring these pathogens have also been implicated in food-borne illnesses, as has fresh produce.
Poultry is the food most often contaminated with disease- causing organisms. It’s been estimated that 60 percent or more of raw poultry sold at retail probably carries some disease-causing bacteria.
Bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella have been found in raw seafood. Oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and cockles may be contaminated with hepatitis A virus.
If you have a health problem, especially one that may have impaired your immune system, don’t eat raw shellfish and use only pasteurized milk and cheese, and pasteurized or concentrated ciders and juices.
Keep It Clean
The cardinal rule of safe food preparation in the home is: Keep everything clean.
The cleanliness rule applies to the areas where food is prepared and, most importantly, to the cook. Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before starting to prepare a meal and after handling raw meat or poultry. Cover long hair with a net or scarf, and be sure that any open sores or cuts on the hands are completely covered. If the sore or cut is infected, stay out of the kitchen.
Keep your work area clean and uncluttered. Be sure to wash the countertops with a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach to about 1 quart of water or with a commercial kitchen-cleaning agent diluted according to product directions. They’re the most effective at getting rid of bacteria.
Also, be sure to keep dishcloths and sponges clean because, when wet, these materials harbor bacteria and may promote their growth. Wash dishcloths and sponges weekly in the washing machine in hot water.
While you’re at it, sanitize the kitchen sink drain periodically by pouring down the sink a solution of one teaspoon bleach to one quart of water or a commercial cleaning agent. Food particles get trapped in the drain and disposal and, along with moistness, create an ideal environment for bacterial growth.
Use smooth cutting boards made of hard maple or plastic and free of cracks and crevices. Avoid boards made of soft, porous materials. Wash cutting boards with hot water, soap, and a scrub brush. Then, sanitize them in an automatic dishwasher or by rinsing with a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach to about 1 quart of water.
Always wash and sanitize cutting boards after using them for raw foods, such as seafood or chicken, and before using them for other foods. Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked, such as raw fish, and another only for ready-to-eat foods, such as bread, fresh fruit, and cooked fish. Visit The Cutting Board Factory for a great selection of food-safe cutting boards.
Always use clean utensils and wash them between cutting different foods.
Wash the lids of canned foods before opening to keep dirt from getting into the food. Also, clean the blade of the can opener after each use. Food processors and meat grinders should be taken apart and cleaned as soon as possible after they’re used.
Don’t put cooked meat on an unwashed plate or platter that has held raw meat.
Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly, rinsing in warm water. Don’t use soap or other detergents. If necessary (and appropriate) use a small scrub brush to remove surface dirt.
Keep your kitchen clean and bacteria-free. Clean kitchen surfaces with hot soapy water using antibacterial sponges and soaps.
The sponges themselves should be bacteria-free. Microwave them for about a minute to keep them clean and dry.
Keep benches, cutting boards, knives, pans or other utensils clean.